Travelling the road to a better city

The City of Victoria’s speed limit initiative needs perspective. It seems that many people have concluded that 40 km/h will apply on all roads.

This is not the case and here’s why the proposed change makes sense: Most of the road surface in cities and towns consists of non arterial streets that default to 50 km/h if they are unposted. By establishing a default limit of 40 km/h, the cost of bringing appropriate limits to many streets will be minimized.

Will lowering speed limits eliminate speeding and unlawful driving? Of course not. There’ll always be a need for enforcement.

But there’s a bigger picture to consider. Reducing speed in urban and residential areas is an investment in a healthier and more functional society. You have to look further down the road to see that. If you haven’t read the many studies that have been done on this, Google is an easy way to find them.

Change doesn’t come overnight but the long list of positives that slower driving brings to society is worth pursuing.